As a welcome to the east coast, SeniorNet@FSL, the Don Weidman Computer Learning Center in Huntington hosted a get-acquainted visit on Feb. 20.

Visiting were Sheila Alger, John Alger, and Jerry Alger, joint operations directors for the new headquarters facility. Among the Huntington SeniorNet hosts were Slava and Eric Vero, Otto Niebler and Fred Atkin and representing Family Service League was the newly elected President and CEO Karen Boorshtein.

The highlight of the meeting was a PowerPoint Presentation by Otto Niebler, detailing the new Homebound Remote Learning Project, currently in late testing mode. This project is the brainchild of SeniorNet@FSL Huntington volunteers Niebler and Jim Burke, who is resident lab coordinator with the support of the Family Service League. Nicknamed “Virtual Classrooms,” the objective is to conduct remote classes in an interactive fashion from SeniorNet Learning Centers with homebound seniors.

Our guests seemed duly impressed. In fact John Alger volunteered to be a student in the first (Beta) “Virtual Class”. A follow-on class was suggested by Sheila Alger to “Teach the Teachers.” The class would include representatives from all interested SeniorNet Learning Centers throughout the United States wanting to pursue a “Homebound Program” for their own Learning Center.

Niebler, Burke and their fellow volunteers are confident that the “Virtual Classrooms” will soon become a reality with consequent benefits for a truly underserved segment of society — the homebound.